The machine recounts in Guilford and Rockingham counties did not change the outcome of the closely watched Republican primary between Senate Leader Phil Berger and challenger Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page, leaving Page’s narrow lead of 23 votes intact.
According to county election officials, the recount in Guilford County resulted in a net-zero change to the margin, with both candidates losing one vote. Page’s overall lead, therefore, remains unchanged.
In Rockingham County, where Page built much of his advantage, the recount likewise produced no change in the final count.
In a statement, Patrick Sebastian, post-election advisor to Sheriff Sam Page, said, “Phil Berger lost this race — and the recount confirmed it. His refusal to accept that reality is an insult to voters and a waste of taxpayer dollars. It’s time for Phil Berger to concede and offer his complete and total endorsement to Sam Page.”
The results reinforce the razor-thin gap that emerged after the canvass, with Page maintaining a districtwide lead of just 23 votes. Berger requested the recount after trailing by 23 votes, as North Carolina law permits candidates within 1% of the total vote to formally request a recount. Once a request is made under this condition, the county elections officials conduct a machine recount of all ballots to confirm or update the results.
Historically, recounts in North Carolina rarely shift more than a handful of votes, and the outcomes in Guilford and Rockingham counties appear to follow that pattern.
With the machine recounts failing to alter the margin, attention now turns to ballot protests filed by Berger’s campaign. The Guilford County Board of Elections is scheduled to hold a hearing at 3pm on one of the protested ballots. Later in the day, the Rockingham County Board of Elections will meet at 5pm to consider three additional ballots challenged by Berger. A hearing has yet to be scheduled for the other nine protested ballots.
Berger could still request a partial hand-to-eye recount under state law. In this process, North Carolina allows candidates in close races to ask for a manual hand count of a sample of selected precincts. If this manual count uncovers discrepancies beyond a set threshold compared to the machine recount, the process can then expand to a full hand recount of every ballot in the district. Such full hand recounts are rare and typically do not significantly change vote totals.
For now, the results leave Page in the same narrow lead he held coming out of the canvass.
